novelraw Chapter 928 - 927 - Abby
Chapter 928 - 927 - Abby
The valley inside the Frey Clan home was a glorious place of resources many powers would envy. In the thousands of years since it was settled, it had become able to nurture grade 7 herbs, crystals, and even a mine had appeared with Immortal Qi stones!
Ores were the only real issue as there was no control on what was in the ground but a few had been transformed with the thick Immortal Qi in the air. Those had far lower returns but a careful harvest schedule allowed the Clan to use them as needed.
It was the duty of many members to recover those resources ready to be recovered but not everyone had the skill in regards to each of them. No one could do it all, but there were a few special ones that had been able to prove able to harvest herbs and crystals with equal skill!
A young girl with blonde hair and a streak of azure braided back as her practical overalls and white shirt was covered in some dirt as she wiped her forehead as she placed a shining darkness crystal into a jade casket before sealing it off.
The sun was high in the sky but she smirked as she looked at the row of glowing crystals. They were all nearly the height of her knee but it was the newer growths she was gathering today.
They were only at grade 3 but were in high demand for the many professionals in the Clan. While she looked only late teens or early twenties, she was nearly a century old.
She was only in the first tier of the Sky Realm and considered very slow in the Clan. Any other power that heard the Frey Clan call such speed slow would cough up blood and be enraged at such genius being degraded anywhere!
"Abby, how is your quota coming?" A male voice called out that made her frown but she cleared her face before holding up the casket that was sealed.
"I just got the last one on this row. They are sealed and ready to be taken to the Refining Hall." Her eyes were a mix of blue with yellow flecks but the man talking had a much more robust body. He almost looked disappointed that she was done with her job ahead of schedule.
"Get it to the storehouse and move onto the herb gardens. They asked for help and I told them you would be there soon." Abby contained her frustration at the lack of a break as crystal harvesting was not easy even for a Sky Realm like her.
It was a very delicate and precise process that most would praise being successful at but the current leader of her team was disdainful of her.
Victor was part of the grandchildren's generation but his potential had tapered off after becoming a Star Tier. He had sailed through the lower realms like many before him but as many had run into, integrating Secondary elements into their cultivation did not always go smoothly.
Their Founder's education resources were robust but it required the individual to comprehend it. Educators or elders were always happy to help but they were not available infinitely.
Victor felt like he had been ignored since he could barely progress to the Moon Tier even after 700 years.
His early elimination from the testing for the heir was also a sting but he was hardly alone there.
His issue with Abby was she was still in it despite being considered worse than him!
She had joined it at her family's request but she had not really wanted to. She was as stunned as anyone that she had endured but the last round was the worst.
Before, the illusions were more like allowing her to act without real materials at her disposal. Pushing her elixir mastery required a lot of materials but she had been able to go far beyond it as she was able to experience grade 5 and 6 recipes she could never do usually!
She also realized it had been about how she dealt with failure and success in her profession later but passed regardless.
The last session however, marking the 51st year since it started, was far more brutal.
Rather than an illusion or taken to some special area to test some aspect of their cultivation, they were placed in caskets she had never even heard of before.
The next 3000 years were the most horrific she had ever lived. She had been on some continent where the Fiends were but one enemy she had to deal with. People were trying to kill her family, her friends, and she also somehow drew the attention of criminals to get her!
She had to kill so many people to survive and still lost precious people. She watched someone she knew to be her wife die due to being too weak to help but she had to soldier on. She wanted to quit but the thought of them dying stopped her each time from giving up.
When she finally woke up, it took a month to realize it had been some kind of intense trial. The casket broke down after she left it!
It had been so real! She had wept and screamed but was told she had still passed. Only 9 of them had passed at that point.
Up till then, she had felt like she would get eliminated due to something simple like a test or comprehension she failed to apply, but never living another life!
She brushed off her irritation as she took the jade casket to the storehouse. She had noticed that change in her. Before, Victor's jabs at her had made her a bit flustered but now she just let them roll off her.
It was why he was getting more irritating in her mind. He was not getting the results he wanted from her.
She dropped everything off in the storehouse before heading to the east where the herb gardens were.
Glenda was in charge over there but the older woman frowned when she saw Abby. She was also in overalls but her clothes were clean and her auburn hair was tied back as her darker skin seemed to shine under the sunlight.
She had revealed a trace of her dragon bloodline when she became a Heaven Realm but just the skin. Great Uncle Hei's children would have far higher odds of that when they came along but all of them were from a dragon so any of them that revealed such were highly valued by the Clan.
"Did Victor send you directly here?" Abby just nodded and moved to pick up a basket. It had a few jade boxes inside and she saw the list of what was being picked today.
"You need to stand up to him, Abby. Our Clan does not stand for that kind of abuse of authority." Glenda was from Matriarch Qing bloodline but that sense of justice was instilled in them all through their teachings.
"It won't change anything. Besides, he is just frustrated. I won't add to it unless he crosses the line." Glenda nodded and moved back to overseeing the other gatherers. Abby needed no such supervision.
It took until sunset to collect 2 baskets worth of herbs but she had no issues. It was another change after the latest trial.
She had always been good at her job before but had been afraid of ruining things that she was very slow to finish. It made some deride her more as she was slow in her job as well as her cultivation.
She was covered in dirt and sweat but headed to the baths all the valley workers could enjoy once they were done. She washed the grime of the day away and wondered if she should withdraw.
She followed the steps carved into the side up to the exit and looked out over the now starlit valley.
She liked her job. She felt safe inside the valley. Her pale crimson robes marked her as a Sky Realm but the line of black down the right side showed she was a high level gatherer. It was an honor and she actually was proud of it.
She came to the gate and moved back into the city but frowned when she felt eyes on her. She had always been able to sense auras even before she was a World Realm.
The eyes on her were not kind but inside the Clan was safe. She knew the extremely harsh punishments for attacking inside the Clan but it had never been invoked. Despite the competition, the Clan members felt like close family even if one struggled to advance.
The creation of the branches changed that feeling a bit but she still thought of everyone as her precious family.
Even the annoying Victor.
So why did she feel afraid? Why did the current eyes make her body shiver?
She moved down the streets to her home but a cloaked figure appeared in front of her. He had black robes which was not a good thing! An intruder?!
"You are Abigail Frey?" A distorted voice spoke up and she let her fire element and dark element fill her arms. Bracelets on each shimmered but not noticeably.
The hood glanced down which made her more afraid. Soul Eyes?! That was bad!
"Resistance is futile." The figure blurred but she crossed her arms as a Fire Drops Art activated wordlessly. It was far faster than she could do herself. Tear drops of fire flew at her target and carved up the street.
It was a rather complex Art and few knew she had mastered it a decade ago.
The figure jumped out of the way but did not even singe their robes doing it. That was very bad!
An expert! How did they get into the Clan?!
The leap of the figure had their hood fall back to reveal a blank faced demon! Their eyes were wrong and she could not tell why but she focused. The bright red drops veered to her target but then she felt the aura.
Immortal!
Her attack would do nothing to them if they used their Qi so why weren't they?
Before she could pin them down, a blast of emerald flame engulfed them!
"Annoying thralls. That cloak is a troubling item I will have to address. Are you all right Abby?" A voice she recognized easily spoke above her and she looked up to see a man with bright emerald hair nearly glowing in the starlit sky.
His dragon eyes glowed with concern but she slowly nodded as she was about to bow when he pulled her into an embrace.
"Thank the spirits." The love and gentleness brought tears to her eyes but the Founder was always like that. He played with them as children whenever he could and always answered questions if he was free. He would answer with slips if he had to.
"Come with me, you were not the only one attacked tonight." He picked her up and tore through space. The world fell away but she only focused on his last words. Were the others ok?! What was going on?!